"Gen_1:26 Gen_3:22 Gen_11:7 Gen_20:13 Gen_31:7, Gen_31:53 Gen_35:7. "Deu_4:7 Deu_5:23; Jos_24:19 1Sa_4:8; 2Sa_7:23; "Psa_58:6; Isa_6:8; Jer_10:10, Jer_23:36. "See also Pro_9:10, Pro_30:3; Psa_149:2; Ecc_5:7, Ecc_12:1; Job_5:1; Isa_6:3, Isa_54:5, Isa_62:5; Hos_11:12, or Hos_12:1; Mal_1:6; Dan_5:18, Dan_5:20, and Dan_7:18, Dan_7:22." - Parkhurst.

The question of whether or not the concept of the Trinity or suggestion of God as Triune is in fact in the Bible is valid.  So far there is one witness to the concept of the Triune God, taking contextual and grammatical evidence as a whole along with the deductions of the rabbi cited above.  He is not alone among other Jews.  In fact there is specific evidence that is more obvious than the testimony of those who only consider the TaNaK as sacred scripture. The several citations comprise more than the three required witnesses to testify to the truthfulness of the factual state of a matter.

The Christophanies that occur in the Old Testament establish the known presence of Jesus as the LORD Sabaoth as He is referred to in the New Testament.  Therefore the presence of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are referred to many times.

He said: They are indeed my people,

children who are not disloyal;

So he became their savior

in their every affliction.

It was not a messenger or an angel,

but he himself who saved them.

Because of his love and pity

he redeemed them himself,

2304. qei`o" theáioás, thi´-os; from 2316; godlike (neuter as noun, divinity):— divine, godhead.

2316. qeov" theáoás, theh´-os; of uncertain affinity; a deity, espec. (with 3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively a magistrate; by Heb. very:— × exceeding, God, god [-ly, -ward].

²⁰For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead

Romans 1

2305. qeiovth" theáioáteµs, thi-ot´-ace; from 2304; divinity (abstract):— godhead.

⁴And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. ⁵For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. ⁶As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: ⁷Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, abounding therein with thanksgiving. ⁸Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. ⁹For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. ¹⁰And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: ¹²Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

Colossians 2

2320. qeovth" theáoáteµs, theh-ot´-ace; from 2316; divinity (abstract):— godhead.

2316. qeov" theáoás, theh´-os; of uncertain affinity; a deity, espec. (with 3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively a magistrate; by Hebrew very:— × exceeding, God, god [-ly, -ward].

⁶Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. ⁷And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them. ⁸Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

Isaiah 44

¹⁶Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me. ¹⁷Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.

Isaiah 48

Isaiah 48:16 Jesus was there. Christ appears to be speaking in this verse. As commonly translated, He reveals that His Spirit inspired the prophets (Revelation 19:10), and that He came into the world sent by the Father and the Spirit. Salvation is the work of the triune God.¹

¹⁹Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost

Matthew 28

Matthew 28:19 Go therefore. The Great Commission is given on Christ’s authority. Since Christ’s dominion is universal, the gospel must go to the whole world. This commandment is the primary reason for evangelism and missions.

nations. The same Greek word often translated "Gentiles." The great promise that in Abraham all the nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:3) is ready to be fulfilled.

baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Those who become disciples are baptized in (literally "into") the triune name. There is one name (not "names"), and one baptism; Father, Son, and Spirit are one God. Disciples are baptized "in" this name because they belong to God, having been brought into the new covenant that expresses the will of the triune God.²

John 20:31 these are written that you may believe. This states the purpose of this Gospel. Through the signs narrated, the reader is to come to faith in Jesus as more than a miracle worker. He is Christ, the incarnate Word, with the Father and the Spirit as Triune God. Through believing, we find life in Him who is the source of life (John 6:32–58).

³⁰And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: ³¹But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. ³²Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. ³³For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. ³⁴Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. ³⁵And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. ³⁶But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. ³⁷All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. ³⁸For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. ³⁹And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. ⁴⁰And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴¹The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. ⁴²And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? ⁴³Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. ⁴⁴No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. ⁴⁶Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. ⁴⁷Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. ⁴⁸I am that bread of life. ⁴⁹Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ⁵⁰This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. ⁵²The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? ⁵³Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. ⁵⁶He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. ⁵⁸This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

John 20

The Triune God. Paul uses the word "God" to refer to the Father (Philippians 1:2; 2:11; 4:20). Paul’s favorite designation for Jesus Christ is "the Lord" (kyrios in Greek; see Philippians 1:2; 2:11, 19; 3:8, 20; 4:23). On the one hand, Paul affirms in this letter that the Father and the Son are identical in being. Both are divine and worship is due to both (Philippians 2:6–11). In calling Jesus Christ "the Lord," Paul identifies Him with Yahweh, the God of Israel. Yet by calling the Father "God" and Jesus "the Lord," Paul shows that there is a distinction of Persons within the Godhead. Finally, the Holy Spirit is united with God the Father (Philippians 3:3) and with Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:19). Paul’s theology is Trinitarian, confessing one God in three Persons. See Isaiah 44:6.

Philippians 1

²Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2

¹¹And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 4

²⁰Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

One and Three: The Trinity

The Old Testament constantly insists that there is only one God, the self-revealed Creator, who must be worshiped and loved exclusively (Deut. 6:4–5; Is. 44:6–45:25). The New Testament agrees (Mark 12:29–30; I Corinthians 8:4; Ephesians 4:6; I Timothy 2:5), but speaks of three personal agents, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, working together to bring about salvation (Romans 8; Ephesians 1:3–14; II Thessalonians 2:13–14; I Peter 1:2). The historic formulation of the Trinity (from the Latin word trinitas, meaning "threeness") is not an attempt to explain it; that would be beyond us. It does provide a boundary and safeguard for our thoughts about this mystery, which confronts us with perhaps the most difficult thought that the human mind can know. It is not easy; but it is true.

The doctrine springs from the historical facts of redemption recorded and explained in the New Testament. Jesus prayed to His Father and taught His disciples to do the same. Yet He convinced them that He was personally divine. Belief in His divinity and in the rightness of offering Him worship and prayer is basic to New Testament faith (John 20:28–31, compare with 1:1–18; Acts 7:59; Romans 9:5; 10:9–13; II Corinthians 12:7–9; Philippians 2:5–6; Colossians 1:15–17; 2:9; Hebrews 1:1–12; I Peter 3:15). Jesus promised to send "another Helper" or "Paraclete" (from the Greek; see text note at John 14:16) to carry on His work as the first Helper (John 14:16,17). A "Paraclete" is an advocate, helper, ally, and supporter (John 14:26; 15:26–27; 16:7–15). The promised Helper was the Holy Spirit, who came at Pentecost to fulfill His ministry. From the start He was recognized as the third divine Person: to lie to Him, said Peter not long after Pentecost, is to lie to God (Acts 5:3–4).

Christ prescribed baptism "in the name (singular: one God, one name) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"—three Persons who are the one God to whom Christians commit themselves (Matthew 28:19). So we meet the three Persons in the account of Jesus’ own baptism: the Father acknowledged the Son, and the Spirit showed His presence in the Son’s life and ministry (Mark 1:9–11). The blessing of II Corinthians 13:14 is trinitarian, as is the prayer for grace and peace from the Father, the Spirit, and Jesus Christ in Revelation 1:4–5. John includes the Spirit between the Father and the Son only because he teaches that the Spirit is divine in the very same sense as are the Father and the Son. These are some of the more striking examples of trinitarian teaching in the New Testament. Though the technical language of later theology is not found there, trinitarian faith and thinking are present in all its pages. In this sense the Trinity is a biblical doctrine.

Basically the doctrine is that the unity of the one God is complex. The three personal "subsistences" (as they are called) are coequal and coeternal centers of self-awareness, each being "I" in relation to two who are "You," and each having the full divine essence of God, the specific existence that belongs to God alone. God is not one person who plays three separate roles; this is the error called "modalism." Nor are there three gods who only seem to be one because they always act together; this is "tritheism." The theologian B. B. Warfield put it simply: "when we have said these three things, then—that there is but one God, that the Father and the Son and the Spirit is each God, that the Father and the Son and the Spirit is each a distinct person—we have enunciated the doctrine of the Trinity in its completeness." This summarizes what was revealed through the words and works of Jesus, and is the reality underlying the salvation of the New Testament.

Practically speaking, the doctrine of the Trinity requires us to give equal honor to each of the three Persons in the unity of the one God. Moreover, knowing the doctrine establishes personal faith no less than it enriches a healthy sense of unity with other Christians.³  

Interpreting the Bible

Bruce Waltke

Biblical hermeneutics, the art of interpreting the Bible, aims to develop rules for its interpretation. This article presents two basic rules with important refinements for each, and two final words of encouragement to the reader. These rules are based on the conviction that the triune God for the sake of His elect progressively revealed Himself, according to His own immutable counsel, through the inspired authors, and providentially superintended the collection of their writings into the canon, the Bible, to His own eternal glory.⁴

THE TRIUNE BLESSING

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them. 

Numbers 6:22–27

Here we find the Trinity in the Old Testament. God the Father is the source of all blessing. The Lord Jesus is the One who makes His face to shine upon us. The Holy Spirit lifts up His countenance upon us and gives us peace. This is the only way we can come to God and experience the peace of God. He is the One who makes these things real to our hearts.⁵ 

1After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. ²And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. ³And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. ⁴And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. ⁵And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. ⁶And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. ⁷And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

8And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. ⁹And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, ¹⁰The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ¹¹Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Revelation 4

 

1And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. ²And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? ³And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. ⁴And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. ⁵And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

6And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. ⁷And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. ⁸And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. ⁹And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; ¹⁰And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. ¹¹And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; ¹²Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. ¹³And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. ¹⁴And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Revelation 5

 

And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

Revelation 4:3

All that we see here is color, beautiful color like precious stones. We do not get a picture of God at all—He never has been photographed. Our attention is directed to the One who is seated on the throne. Although He is God the Father, we should understand this to be the throne of the triune God. Nevertheless, the three persons of the Trinity are distinguished: (1) God the Holy Spirit in verses 2 and 5; (2) God the Father here in verse 3; and (3) God the Son in verse 5 of chapter 5. What we have before us here is the Trinity upon the throne.⁶

 

⁷